Guitar Gear Related Discussion - CIVIL discussion only

[Dominik]

Anyone here with an Ibanez Edge/Lo-Pro/Edge Pro bridge will know what I'm talking about. Adjusting the intonation is a major PITA.

Unlike a fixed bridge or Strat bridge where you can easily move the saddles back and forth with a screwdriver, on a Floyd style bridge the saddles are held in place by a small hex screw.

So you have to detune the string, loosen the saddle locking screw with a small hex key, move the saddle, tighten the screw again, tune to pitch, check the intonation at the 12th fret against a harmonic, and repeat this process until it's right.

Stewmac sells a special tool for Floyds but it doesn't work on an Ibanez and Ibanez stopped making their own one years ago. Fast forward to this year and they started making them again. It costs around $60. Saves hours on this process.

[ctgblue]

Anyone here with an Ibanez Edge/Lo-Pro/Edge Pro bridge will know what I'm talking about. Adjusting the intonation is a major PITA.

Unlike a fixed bridge or Strat bridge where you can easily move the saddles back and forth with a screwdriver, on a Floyd style bridge the saddles are held in place by a small hex screw.

So you have to detune the string, loosen the saddle locking screw with a small hex key, move the saddle, tighten the screw again, tune to pitch, check the intonation at the 12th fret against a harmonic, and repeat this process until it's right.

Stewmac sells a special tool for Floyds but it doesn't work on an Ibanez and Ibanez stopped making their own one years ago. Fast forward to this year and they started making them again. It costs around $60. Saves hours on this process.

You can shortcut this process by not worrying about the pure tune on the string, intonation doesn't care what note, it just looks at wave length differences. But you have to push the bar to level if it's going to work, a simple block in the back cavity should work.

The REAL pain is re-setting the level if you change string gauges.

[Dominik]

The REAL pain is re-setting the level if you change string gauges.

Definitely. I used to hate the thing until I blocked it. Now I like having fine tuners back there plus the locking nut eliminates tuning issues.

It's also a good idea to put Floyd locking nut pressure pads back in the same place when changing strings. Years ago I'd pull them all off and never give it a second thought. Over time the strings wear grooves in the bottom and if a narrow plain string sits in a wider groove created by a thicker wound string the pad is almost useless.